The present invention relates to improvements in coin testing and separating apparatus of the kind commonly employed in modern vending machines. More particularly the invention pertains to an improved cradle mechanism for testing and separating coins and the like on the basis of size, weight and the milled or unmilled character of their edge surfaces.
The principal object of the present invention is that of improving the efficiency of the cradle mechanism of coin acceptors in discriminating coins which are essentially alike in respects of size, weight and metallic content but differ as to the character of their edge surfaces. An example of coins which have proved to be troublesome in the respect noted is the new English five pence and the German one mark coin. The English coin has a milled edge, whereas the more valuable German coin has a smooth edge.
The object of the present invention is to provide a cradle mechanism that will sense and discriminate coins on the basis of the character of their edge surfaces, and which will perform with improved precision the usual cradle function of testing coins for size and weight before passing them on to an acceptance passageway of the device.
A further object achieved by the present invention is that of preventing an undersized coin from bypassing the cradle, a result which has been known to occur in former devices where the small or undersized coin is forcefully injected in a particular manner into the receiving slot of the acceptor.
Yet another object is to realize the foregoing features and advantages without materially increasing the cost, space requirements or the number of operating parts of the apparatus.